U.S. sees increase in shark attacks

Published: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 9:37 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 9:37 p.m.

Shark attacks in the U.S. increased last year, and Florida led the way, claiming nearly half of those attacks. But don't panic — that could actually be a good sign, said scientists who released a report Monday on worldwide shark attacks.

According to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, out of 80 shark attacks worldwide last year, 53 occurred in the U.S. — the most since 2000. Florida had 26 of them, with most in Volusia and Brevard counties because of the high surfing activity there.

George Burgess, the director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said these numbers follow a typical pattern.

"Florida, with this extremely long coastline, warm to subtropical climate, large population, and of course a massive tourism base, means that we put lots of people into the water year-round," Burgess said. "The opportunities for a human and shark to get together have gotten greater."

And so, the actual shark attack rate has not increased, but human activity has.

Shark preservation efforts — to stave off the overall decline in sharks' populations since the 1970s — have also improved in the U.S., increasing both the shark population and sharks' contact with humans, said Christopher Lowe, a professor of marine biology at California State University at Long Beach and director of the shark lab there.

"My personal feeling is that I wouldn't be surprised to see things creep up over time … overall we are getting more sharks back because of better fishing management," Lowe said. "But at the same time we are putting more people in the water … increasing the potential for an encounter."

Burgess said that sharks like to hang out close to points of entry for surfers, at water depths as shallow as 5 or 6 feet. They also like the same fishing-rich environments as humans.

"Every time we go to the beach, we are invading a natural world that is already occupied by animals and plants in that area," Burgess said. "We need to remember that when we enter the sea it's not the equivalent of going to the YMCA pools here in Gainesville. It's a wild world out there."

Most shark attacks, however, are relatively benign — and not the kind of terror-inducing episodes inspired by the movie Jaws. There are more than 400 species of sharks, and most have teeth designed to hold and swallow fish whole — not sheer and bite things like humans, especially if the sharks are smaller than humans, which many are, Lowe said.

"The amazing thing is surfers are bitten 200 yards offshore, and they manage to paddle to the beach. If sharks were intent on eating humans, (surfers) would not ever be able to make it back to the beach. For whatever reason, sharks give up."

Lowe added that the chances of a shark attack are also very low.

"Your chances of dying driving to the beach are so much greater that it's just unbelievable, and we don't think twice about jumping in our car and going someplace," Lowe said.

One person in the U.S. died last year due to a white shark attack — in California. White sharks also killed three people in South Africa and two in Australia; and bull sharks killed two people in the island of Reunion.

"As a rich nation, we are blessed with the ability to take care of our victims on the beach very quickly," Burgess said.

The U.S. also leads in efforts to counter the decline of sharks because of overfishing them — mostly for their valuable fins, said Sonja Fordham, the president of Shark Advocates International, a project of the Ocean Foundation in D.C.

And regulatory efforts aim to preserve the important role that sharks play in the sea. "We think their disappearance would have negative cascading consequences for the ecosystem," Fordham said, adding, "There's also growing interest in a decent number of sharks for eco-tourism such as whale sharks and hammerheads … which brings significant revenue to coastal communities."

<p>Shark attacks in the U.S. increased last year, and Florida led the way, claiming nearly half of those attacks. But don't panic — that could actually be a good sign, said scientists who released a report Monday on worldwide shark attacks.</p><p>According to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, out of 80 shark attacks worldwide last year, 53 occurred in the U.S. — the most since 2000. Florida had 26 of them, with most in Volusia and Brevard counties because of the high surfing activity there.</p><p>George Burgess, the director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said these numbers follow a typical pattern.</p><p>"Florida, with this extremely long coastline, warm to subtropical climate, large population, and of course a massive tourism base, means that we put lots of people into the water year-round," Burgess said. "The opportunities for a human and shark to get together have gotten greater."</p><p>And so, the actual shark attack rate has not increased, but human activity has.</p><p>Shark preservation efforts — to stave off the overall decline in sharks' populations since the 1970s — have also improved in the U.S., increasing both the shark population and sharks' contact with humans, said Christopher Lowe, a professor of marine biology at California State University at Long Beach and director of the shark lab there.</p><p>"My personal feeling is that I wouldn't be surprised to see things creep up over time … overall we are getting more sharks back because of better fishing management," Lowe said. "But at the same time we are putting more people in the water … increasing the potential for an encounter."</p><p>Burgess said that sharks like to hang out close to points of entry for surfers, at water depths as shallow as 5 or 6 feet. They also like the same fishing-rich environments as humans.</p><p>"Every time we go to the beach, we are invading a natural world that is already occupied by animals and plants in that area," Burgess said. "We need to remember that when we enter the sea it's not the equivalent of going to the YMCA pools here in Gainesville. It's a wild world out there."</p><p>Most shark attacks, however, are relatively benign — and not the kind of terror-inducing episodes inspired by the movie Jaws. There are more than 400 species of sharks, and most have teeth designed to hold and swallow fish whole — not sheer and bite things like humans, especially if the sharks are smaller than humans, which many are, Lowe said.</p><p>"The amazing thing is surfers are bitten 200 yards offshore, and they manage to paddle to the beach. If sharks were intent on eating humans, (surfers) would not ever be able to make it back to the beach. For whatever reason, sharks give up."</p><p>Lowe added that the chances of a shark attack are also very low.</p><p>"Your chances of dying driving to the beach are so much greater that it's just unbelievable, and we don't think twice about jumping in our car and going someplace," Lowe said.</p><p>"I know a lot of surfers and their philosophy is, 'I love surfing and I'm going to keep doing it.' "</p><p>One person in the U.S. died last year due to a white shark attack — in California. White sharks also killed three people in South Africa and two in Australia; and bull sharks killed two people in the island of Reunion.</p><p>"As a rich nation, we are blessed with the ability to take care of our victims on the beach very quickly," Burgess said.</p><p>The U.S. also leads in efforts to counter the decline of sharks because of overfishing them — mostly for their valuable fins, said Sonja Fordham, the president of Shark Advocates International, a project of the Ocean Foundation in D.C.</p><p>And regulatory efforts aim to preserve the important role that sharks play in the sea. "We think their disappearance would have negative cascading consequences for the ecosystem," Fordham said, adding, "There's also growing interest in a decent number of sharks for eco-tourism such as whale sharks and hammerheads … which brings significant revenue to coastal communities."</p><p>Contact Kristine Crane at 338-3119 or kristine.crane@gvillesun.com.</p>